Epic's Infinity Blade turns over $1.6m in 5 days

As much as I'd love to say this game beat out the odds purely by technical achievement and entertainment value, I can't ignore the fact that Apple was pushing this from the start. First off, the game was used in an Apple keynote and demoed there. Then, immediately upon release it became Apple's Game Of the Week.

I have a feeling that the average person didn't even know about this game or why it was "one of the most technically impressive iOS titles to date". The 274,000 copies is largely a result of Apple advertising it. That said, there really is nothing wrong with that. I just wonder how well a technically inferior game would have sold under the same conditions and in the same price bracket.

Posted:2 years ago

I think that is pretty unfair Dustin, there have been a ton of titles out there that were promoted and featured by Apple -including keynote stuff such as need for speed and Rolando.

Apple promotes games that they believe are elite. Elite games sell better because they are elite. This rule spans across the video game platforms. Of course it became Apples Game of the Week, the main reason behind that was that it is Apples game of the week and probably across all platforms including DSi, PSP, Android etc. I would actually go a step father and say that this game will win game of the year across the board.

It really is a special game and I think Chair/Epic raised the bar to the extent that the other publishers will now be expected to compete technically. A reviewer friend of mine literally said on Saturday that IB makes Hero's of Sparta look like Donkey Kong.

For disclosure, yes I work in the video game industry and no I have zero affiliation to Epic.

The 274K copies is actually wrong because only 35% of the user base actually enables game center.

Posted:2 years ago

Not to gang up on Dustin, but there's also the point that even without Apples promotional support, a supremely polished, exciting product carries it's own social influence, especially on an accessible, widely distributed platform where picking up a game is just a few taps away from your home screen.

Though I'd been following the development of IB myself, it didn't take long for plenty of other people to independently recommend it or downright press it in my face, as I did for others simply because I found it to be exceptional.

Considering what Epic may end up pulling in with this title, I wonder if IB might spur higher-end development on phones, forcing them into even greater competition with DS, PSP, etc. It's fun to think of what a AAA category for iPhone/Android devices might look like but certainly, it would allow me to room to pitch more expensive/immersive projects.

Posted:2 years ago

You must admit, on a mobile platform and to have such graphic is really amazing, especially iphone/ipod is not a "mobile game platform". EPIC did a great job on developing their technology into mobile platform. I assume the game play itself isn't bad, or else there is no way for IB to achieve 1.6m in 5days.

p.s
1.6m ins't that much if you consider the number of iphones/ipods that are sold worldwide.

Posted:2 years ago

It looks impressive on the iPhone, but as Jason says given the amount of iPhones out there the sales are not that high. In regards to the 1.6m, you need to see how much is going to other parties and how much was dev cost for it. I don`t know if/how much is Apple getting from all the apps download % wise, but I doubt that apple isn`t getting anything.

Posted:2 years ago

@ $5.99 to download I think 274k is quite good. I generally buy the odd app at 59p on a whim but think twice when the price goes over £1. I look for reviews and feedback and may even sample them before making my purchase

Edited 1 times. Last edit by Kevin Clark-Patterson on 14th December 2010 2:34pm

Posted:2 years ago

The question is if bigger games can be profitable with some people always saying that iPhone takes away the market for Nintendo and Sony, but 300k copies (not a bad number mind you) for the first bigger game on the iPhone is a bit too low for devs who make currently big games for DS or PSP to consider making similar games for the iPhone where the price can be easily above the 6 bucks.

Posted:2 years ago